Machine for shaving hides or skins



No. 62|,077. Patented Mar. l4, !899. J. HALL.

MACHINEFOR SHAVING muss on SKINS.

(Application med Dec. 20, 1898.

(No Model.) 3 shans-Sheet I.

No. 62l,077. P atented Mar. I4, !899.

'J. HALL. MCHINE FOR SH'AVING HID'ES OR SKINS.

(Application mea nec. 20, 1895.\

3 shans-sheet 2.

(No Model.)

m: NORRIS PSTERS ca., FHoYaL'rHo.. WASNINGTON. u. c.

No. 62l,077. Patented Mar. I4,-l899.

J. HALL. MACHINE FOR SHAVING HIDES OR SKINS.

(Application filed Dec. 20, 1898..)

3 Stunts-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

n I I IIA l 1 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J OSEPH HALL, OF LEEDS, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR'SHAVING HIDES OR SKINS.

SPECIFATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,077, dated March 1.4, 1899. Application filed December 20, 2 1.898. Serial No. 699607. (No model.)

To all whom zt nuy concrn:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH HALL, a subj ect of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Leeds, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hide, Skin, or Leather Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention 'relates to an improvenent upon the softening or grounding machine described and claimed in an application for a patent filed by me on the 11th day of August, 1898, Serial No. 688,359, the improvement relatingmore particularly to the Construction and arrangement of the parts of such a machine.

In the machine described in my former application the two feed-rollers and the two working rolls or cylinders are so arranged that when they are brought into a position to operate upon the work the work is caused to travel in an obliquedirection' in the machine.

In the present improvement one of the principal objects attained is to so arrange the feedrollers and working rollers as to permit the work to travel in a vertical direction in the machine.

Another object of the present invention resides in the simplification of the means for bringing the feed-rollers and working rolls into and out of operative position.

A third object of the present invention is to provide in a machine of this character a nipping device to hold the work prior toits being acted upon by the' working rolls and prior to its being gripped'by the feed-rolis, said nipping device having a further function in acting as a cover or guard for the working rolls at the time the work is inserted into the machine.

My invention, stated in general terms, consists of a machine for softening or grounding hides, skins, and leather when constructed and arranged in substantially the manner hereinafter described and claimed.

The nature and scope of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the acconpanying drawings, forming part hereof, in which- Figure l is an end elevational View of a machine embodying main features of my inventon. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View thereof.- Fig. 3 is a top or plan View of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of a modified form of machine wherein the feed-rollers are located beneath the Working rolls and a nipping device is located above the Working rolls and serves as a guard for said rolls at the time the work is inserted into the machine. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a top or plan view of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a represents the main framework of the machine, forming the bearings for the shaft a' of the working roll b. On either end of the shaft a' is Secured a pulley & through either of which pulleys (1 the shaft a and working roll b may be driven. The shaft co' carries a spur-wheel & which meshes with an idle gear-wheel a which rotates upon a stud 60 projecting from. the frame a'. The gear-wheel 60 meshes with a gear-wheel a rotating loosely .upon a shaft 60 fixed in the frame a. The shaft a forms a fulcrum for the brackets d, whichrswing on said shaft (0 at either end of the machine and carry the shaft d' of the second working roll 61 This shaft d' of the working roll 01 has a spur-wheel 62 in mesh with the gear-wheel a which rotates loosely upon the fulcrumal shaft a From this description it will be unders'tood that upon the rotation of the shaft a' of the working roll b the shaft d' and the working roll 61 will be rotated in an opposite direction through the intervention of the gearing above described.

The framework a supports at the front and top of the machine a table e, on which the work is laid prior to its introduction into the machine. In the form of machine illustrated in Figs. l to 3 the feed-rollers f and g are located' directly below this table at or near its delivery end and directly above the two working rolls b and (l The feed-roller f has a shaft f', preferably having bearings in blocks f sliding horizontally in suitable slots or guideways f formed in theframe a at either end of the machine. These blocks f are normally under the tension of an adj ustable spring f which serves to throw the blocks f the shaft f', and roller f toward the delivery end of the table e. The shaft f' of the roller f is positively driven by the-pulley f located directly on the shaft f' and connected with the source of power and inde- IOO 2 &21,077

pendent of the pulleys & driving the shaft a. The swinging brackets d form at their upper ends the bearings for the shaft g' of the roller g, and on this shaft g' is preferably placed a spur or gear wheel g which is adapted to mesh with a similar gear-wheel f or the shaft f' of the roller f when the roller g is brought up against the roller f by the movement of the brackets (l. This gearing serves to positively drive the shaft of the roller g from the shaft of the roller f.

The lower end of each swinging bracket (l is pivotally connected to one end of an adjustable link or bar h, the other end of which link or bar being pivotally secured to an arm 72 extending upward from the counterbalanced treadle-lever 7L2, pivotally supported in the frame a of the machine. In the form of machine illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 the treadlelever 7 has been shown in its depressed position, and by means of the intermediate connection s the brackets d have been swung on the fulcrunal shaft & to bring the working roll d and the feed-roller g into operative position with respect to the other working roll Z and feed-roller f.

In the form of machine illustrated in Figs. 4: to 6 the feed-rollers f and g are located below the two working rolls b and d and the working rolls b and d are located directly below the delivery end of the table e. In this form the swinging brackets d simply carry the working roll, the feed-rollers f and g both having bearings in the frame of the machine. In this form the Work is fed directly to the working rolls, and these rolls are driven in a direction to cause the work to travel upward in the machine, whereas the feed-rollers are driven in an opposite direction to cause the work to travel downward in the machine. Inasmuch as in this Construction the work will of necessity be operated upon by the working rolls slightly before the feed-rollers have an opportunity to grip the work it is necessary to have in the machine an additional nipping device to prevent the work from being thrown back before it is caught by the feed-rollers. By reason also of the location of the working rolls directly below the table c it is necessary to shield or guard the blades of at least one working roll at the time the work is inserted, so as to prevent the hand or fingers of the operator from coming into contact with the blades of the working rolls. To acconplish both of these ob-` jects, the following preferred mechanism has been devised:

To each of the shafts d' and a' of the working rolls (l and b is pivoted a cover-plate m or m', the plate m' being adapted to cover a portion of the periphery of the roll CZ and` plate m' a portion of the periphery of the roll b. The cover-platem, which turnsloosely on the shaft d', is pivoted at either end of the machine to one end of a link or arm m the other end of which link or arm m is pivotally connected to a rocking arm 171 toggled by a link m to one of the swinging brackets d, above its fulcrum c as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. By this means when the brackets d are swung, for instance, to the left of Fig. 5 to separate the roll CZ from the roll b the cover-plate m is pushed forward and downward over the periphery of the roll (1 and toward the periphery of the roll b. The plate m' of the roll b is connected by the link m to a projection m carried by the bearing of the shaft d' of the roll (1 in such a manner that when said shaft d' and roll (l are moved to the left by the brackets d the cover-plate m' is moved over the periphery of the roll Z) toward the periphery of the other roll (Z until the two covers m and m' meet or approach suliiciently close together to permit of the insertion of the work and the clamping or nipping of the same for that interval of time which must elapse before the feed-ro1lersf and g grasp the lower end of the work. This nipping or clamping prevents the work from being thrown upward bythe working roll Z) before the work has been grasped by the feedrollers. The cover-plates also act as a guard to protect the fingers of the operator from contact with the working rolls during the insertion of the work into the machine. When the work has been grasped by the feed-rollers f and g, the treadle-lever h is operated 'to bring the working roll (1 into operative position,and the cover-plates are thereby thrown back to the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

It will be understood that in both forms of the machine the feed-rollers f and g rotate so as to draw the work away from the working rolls, which working rolls rotate in a direction to draw the Work away from the feedrollers. The feed-rollers having a much firmer grip upon the work will thereforecause the work to travel through the machine in the direction in which the feed-rollers are rotating. In Figs. l to 3 the feed-rollers f and g operate to draw the work upward through the machine, whereas in Figs. et to 6 the feedrollers f and g operate to draw the work down- Ward through the machine. In both forms of the machine, however, the work is passed vertically through the machine and not, as in former machines, either obliquely or horizontally. This method of passing the work through the machine results from the fact that in operative position the feed-rollers and the working rolls are arranged in horizontal planes. By passing the work Vertically through the machine a manifest advantage arises in that the work has no tendency to lean or rest against one of the working rolls and away from the other. Each side of the work will therefore be acted upon by the required working roll with that uniformity which is the desideratun of such Operations, as softening or grounding, and the work requires no vertically-arranged table or support.

In Figs. 1 to 3 the feed-roller f is under spring-tension and is adapted to slide hori- IOD zontally in the frame a of the machine. It thus acts upon the feed-roller as a butter to break the force of the upward movement of the working roll 62 and feed-roller g when the same are elevated to operative position by the treadle. It is of course to be understood that in both forms of the machine the upward movement of the brackets d is lim ited by an adjustable stop pin or screw o.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine of the character described, two working rolls adapted to be rotated in opposite directions and to operate on both sides of the work and to advauce it in one direction, and two feed-rollers adapted to be rotated in opposite directions to retract the work in a direction opposite to that in which it is advanced by the working rolls, said working rolls and feed-rollers adapted when in operative position to be arranged in horizontal planes so as to cause the work to travel through the machine in a vertical 'plane without supporting the work by extraneous means, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a machine of the character described, two working rolls and two feed-rollers, one of said working rolls and feed-rollers adapted to swing toward or away from the complemental working roll and feed-roller so as to be located in operative position side by side therewith in horizontal planes, brackets carrying the movable members of the Operating mechanism, and a treadle mechanism adapted to oscillate said brackets, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. In a machine of the character described, two working rolls, whereof one is adapted to swing toward or away from the other, a feedroller f, located above the stationary working roll and adapted to slide under spring tension in a horizontal plane, a second feedroller g, located above and swinging with the movable working roll, said swinging feeclroller g, adapted to impinge upon the spring- -controlled feed-roller f, to thereby break the movement of the swinging working roll toward the other working roll, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. In a machine of the character described, two working rolls, whereof one is adapted to swing toward and away from the other, in combination with the cover-plates m and m', swinging 'over the periphery of the working rolls and adapted when the rolls are separ'ated to swing toward each other to cover the adjacent faces of the working rolls, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

J OSEPH HALL.

Witnesses:

ANNA HINS, ETHEL HALL. 

